One of our goals at Teach One Reach One Ministries is to take research from the secular educational world and see what we can learn from it that will enhance Bible classes for children and teens in a ministry setting.
Edutopia is a top website for information on secular education. A recent article (you can read it here) listed five studies they believe every teacher should know about. While they don’t really care about Bible classes in churches and other ministry settings, there are some ways to adapt the findings of these studies to help in your classes.
- Reviewing is critical for placing scripture and its application in the long term memories of students. The article specifically looked at different ways students studied for tests. While it is unusual to have tests at church, reviewing information is critically important in Bible classes. The study found spacing review of material at regular intervals was key. In other words, don’t just talk about the Beatitudes once and forget about it. Periodically ask students to remember what they learned in various ways. The study also found that merely having students reread the material and/or highlight it did not help memory as much as having to recall the information from memory to complete an activity or answer questions.
- Bible facts are best taught differently than Bible application, Christian character, Christian life skills, serving others, etc. There is a temptation – especially when teaching older children and teens – to make every class a lecture. The truth is that only facts are best taught that way. Anything else is better understood and remembered by actively engaging with the information in some way. We have numerous posts about project based learning and service learning on our website as well as an entire Christian life skills curriculum based on learning and practicing important skill sets.
- Background knowledge makes learning new information easier. Don’t assume your students know or remember where King David fits into the Bible or anything about his earlier life if you are picking up in the middle of it for some reason. Or if you are looking at a non-story passage of scripture, give students a little background on who wrote it, to whom it was originally written and if known, the background of why God wanted the original recipients to have this information. Then your students have something to connect the “new” information they are learning – to the background information that helps give it context and meaning. (This can be done very simply for young children.)
- Drawing can improve understanding and memory. Notice I said “drawing”. Coloring sheets add nothing of value to any Bible class. When students free draw notes, illustrations of stories, mind maps and more the study found their comprehension and recall improved.
- Planning a retreat or longer intense time of Bible study? Incorporate brain breaks. Brain breaks aren’t usually necessary for an average 45-55 minute Bible class. If you are doing anything longer or more intense, taking a quick break to stretch or grab some water can make learning easier for the rest of the session.
Let’s take advantage of the research done by secular educators and make our Bible classes as effective as possible. Your students need to learn in your classes what they may never learn elsewhere.